The Sexism Defense

Instead of letting their female candidates run on their records, Democrats are crying ‘sexism’ to silence all debate. In the April issue of Townhall Magazine, where this article originally appeared, S.E. Cupp explains how liberals are protecting their female candidates from a political process they should be able to survive.

Look out. The next two years are sure to be fraught with all sorts of GOP sexism meant to tank the campaigns of liberal political heroines like Hillary Clinton, Wendy Davis, and Sandra Fluke.

How do I know? Because liberals have said so.

Before Hillary has even announced her intentions for 2016, the war-on-women agitators are already overzealously predicting Republicans’ hostile, sexist, and downright rude treatment of her. It’s like they think they can will it into fruition.

The Daily Beast’s Sam Kleiner, for one, invoked some seriously Freudian projection when he accused RNC chair Reince Priebus of sexism for his promise to be “very aggressive” against Hillary. But not on issues like Monica Lewinsky or even reproductive rights. Rather, on Benghazi and Obamacare, you know, issues the president had to debate in 2012 and issues Hillary helped oversee. How dare he? What a terrible future sexist.

And in the wake of newly released documents from 1992 Clinton polling, liberals really didn’t appreciate that Hillary was referred to, not by Republicans but by their own polls, as “ruthless.” If Republicans repeat the charge in the future, well that’s sexist.

Newsday columnist Ellis Henican declared, “if gender were flipped, it would be very different.”

I don’t have to point out, but I will, that Republicans have been called all kinds of things, from “Hitler” to “Caribou Barbie.” But I can see how “ruthless” crosses the line of civility.

Mitt Romney recently argued that when it comes to Hillary’s candidacy, if she ends up running, Republicans should focus on her record and not Bill’s dalliances. It’s a nice thought, and one that might be worth considering if holding up our end of the bargain resulted in any reciprocal good will from the other side. But the Republican nominee will not be granted such niceties, that’s for sure.

Nor will Republicans be allowed to ask Hillary about, well, anything. The list of topics that appear to be off limits thus far: Benghazi, Bill, her health, Whitewater, Marc Rich, Vince Foster, driving, and anything before 2014.

The sexism dog whistles aren’t limited to the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. Apparently, Wendy Davis, running for governor in Texas, has also felt the vicious hand of Republican gender bias during her sudden rise to fame.

When reporters (not Republicans) discovered she’d altered significant facts in her autobiography, she fended off critics by hauling out the sexism trope:

“…I would expect people who are inclined to think negatively about me to pick on something like this. Do I think it’s reasonable? No. Do I think that I’m being held to a different standard than a man who would be in this exact same race with the exact same story might be? Yes.”

It would be funny if it weren’t so embarrassing. Does Davis really think we’ve all forgotten about all the probes into the personal lives of John McCain, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and, for that matter, President Obama? Does she really think that stories she’s offered up as facts are above scrutiny because she’s a woman?

Then, of course, there’s Sandra Fluke, who decided not to run for Congress after all and instead to run for California State Senate. When the Daily Caller ran the headline “Fluke Goes for Plan B” and Breitbart.com ran “Sandra Fluke Aborts

Congressional Bid” Media Matters of course pounced on the rabid sexism...of puns. What, are we not allowed to mention the very things that made her a thing in the first place?

Liberals sure don’t seem to have much faith in these women. If they did they wouldn’t be so quick to protect them from a necessary political process that they should be able to survive. The rush to defend them against invisible sexism isn’t exactly confidence inspiring. In fact, it reeks of insecurity...get the vapors, she might faint!

Promising sexism that hasn’t even happened yet, or jumping on sexism that isn’t there doesn’t do these women any favors. In fact, it just makes them look like weak, incapable victims. But I know, I know...we’re the sexists. •